China's soccer waddling after ten years of First Division League

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 02, 2003

China's soccer waddling after ten years of First Division League

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With Shanghai Shenhua elbowing onto the throne and Chongqing Lifan's hope of staying in the league shattered, the ten-year-old Chinese First Division Soccer League staged its final performance and quitted out from history on the afternoon of November 30.

China's soccer is still staggering after a decade-long professional road larded with many tries, perplexities, hopes and disappointments. However, the experience and lessons learned during these years can never be neglected, and this is the right moment to make a sum-up.

Teams: Dalian standing out

As a seven-time champion of the ten-year league, Dalian's pride is well deserved. Although the Wanda Group withdrew from China's soccer in 1998, its successor, Shide Club pulled the team together again after one year's adjustment. After ten years' professional matches the Dalian team has joined the rank of famous teams in Asia.

While Shanghai Shenhua pales in comparison with Dalian. Though gaining back the title eight years afterwards, its performance during the playing season turned out unsatisfactory. Another team Shandong has sunk into obscurity since its title winning in 1999, and was reputed as a "monkey king in a mountain without any tiger".

Coaches: foreign ones do not fit for it

Although the two Yugoslavian coaches led their teams in snatching four titles, their glory didn't last long. Slobodan Santrac failed to achieve more after Shangdong's "double victory", and Milorad Kosanovic, who once brought to Dalian three successive champions, scored nothing in this season. Old fighter Lee Jangsu will leave Qingdao after this season and Shandong's Russian coach will also say goodbye to the team. All of them contributed to China's soccer, and also left behind many regrets.

Native coaches also have tasted enough sweets and sours. On the one hand they must sustain doubts from outside on their teaching quality while on the other they must manage to get along well with their players. Qi Wusheng and Chi Shangbin just managed to stand on their fame, while Xu Genbao, having individual personality was for many a time driven off his post by his players. Now most of the old coaches have retired and young ones like Wu Jingui and Cheng Yaodong are rising, both facing a bumpy road before them.

Football Association: let others to praise and criticize

The Chinese Football Association suffered enough attacks during the ten year First Division League concerning club transfer, bet on the World Cup, particularly its inefficient supervision over soccer fraud and black whistle.

It's apparently unfair to lay all the blame on the Association alone for setbacks during the ten-year professional reforms in soccer. It will be too much to solely depend on an organization to create a sound, orderly soccer environment in such a big country as China. As supervisor of the nation's soccer reforms, the Association still has a long way to go.

Fans: from craziness to calmness

China has first-class fans, if not first-class teams. Fans are the most moving and touching group during the ten years of First Division Soccer League. Once upon a time they filled the stadiums in Beijing, Dalian and X'an with their passionate songs and claps.

But no such scene has been found in recent two years. Let down by defeats in the World Cup, soccer fraud, black whistle, their excitement gradually cooled down. A stadium with unoccupied seats is the biggest headache of a football club, as well as an undesirable scene in the eyes of fans. How to rekindle the enthusiasm of fans? Is it enough to replace the name of First Division by the premier league?

By PD Online staff member Li Heng

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